The believer didn’t always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Savior satisfying the demands of God’s justice for his guilt.

From the moment of his new birth, a man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is the “pearl of great price” for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love that our heart beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defense of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life and the model after which we would sculpture our character.

Some think that Paul only meant that Christ was the aim and end of his life, but he meant for more than that! His very life was Jesus; he ate, drank, and slept eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live like that? Do you operate your business for yourself, or for Christ? Do you live for your family, or for Christ? Whoever professes to live for Christ can’t live for anything else without committing a spiritual adultery. The true life of a Christian is Christ. Its source, its sustaining power, its style, its end: it’s all found in him alone.

Lord, accept me in Christ; I here present myself to you and you alone. [M&E]